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March 2004

03/16/2004

As I was stuck in traffic around the Brown Palace yesterday, where concrete barricades surrounded the building, I thought to myself, "What? Dick Cheney in town for another fundraiser?"

Bingo. At least this time they didn't snarl up the entire city's traffic like they did last time Cheney came to town. It's interesting. In Wyoming, they may not view Cheney as really one of their own (I hear he wouldn't even qualify for an in-state hunting license) but apparently he is really good at getting Colorado Republicans to open their wallets. Another $300,000 raised yesterday for Bob Beauprez to go negative on Dave Thomas. (And no mention of Bob Schaffer, interestingly.)

Apparently most of Cheney's talk was spent attacking John Kerry. But if he was hoping the usually supine local media would repeat his attacks as fact, he was wrong -- the Post's coverage of Cheney's speech led with the fact that Cheney's attacks on Kerry were based on a misquote of Kerry's remarks. You would expect Cheney knows that; he just figures he can get away with it. What's sad is that it is so remarkable when a media outlet actually reports that the things these guys go around spouting just aren't true.

03/15/2004

I've criticized the Democratic Party for not doing enough to promote diversity in its higher ranks, especially in the Senate. So time for credit where credit is due. We've got Ken Salazar in place to run for Senate in Colorado (where his primary challenger is Mike Miles, also a person of color), and today the Democrats of Illinois nominated Barack Obama to be their candidate for Senate.

And this isn't a situation like 2002, where Democratic candidates of color for Senate were in races (in Texas and Nevada) that were considered marginal at best. In Illinois and Colorado we have what may be the top two opportunities for Democrats to pick up seats currently held by Republicans.

Salazar and Obama seem to have a lot in common -- both talented lawyers from elite law schools (Michigan and Harvard, respectively) who people have believed from day one were destined for greatness. I suppose we are expected to believe society is worse off because some white guys with better credentials on paper didn't get their spots in law school.

Beware the GOP spin on this. They want the dialogue to be that when Republicans run candidates of color (like Bobby Jindal for Governor of Louisiana), it is testimony to their increasing appeal. But when Democrats run candidates of color, it is a sign of selling out or of inability to connect with white voters. Don't fall for the hype. Obviously neither Obama or Salazar (or Miles) could succeed in their respective states without appealing to voters of all colors, and none of them would pretend to be a senator representing only their own racial/ethnic group(s).

Fact is, Democrats don't really have to go around hand picking and grooming people to be their minority candidates. All they have to do is get over hang-ups and let talent rise to the top. Congratulations to the Democrats of Illinois and Colorado for doing this. Let's hope we're celebrating Senate wins in both of these states come November.

With the announcement yesterday that Jane Norton will not enter the race, former Rep. Bob Schaffer has to be considered the GOP frontrunner for US Senate. Although it should be noted that State GOP Chair Ted Halaby said only that "if" Schaffer is the candidate the party would back him, seeming to leave the possibility open that another Republican (Gale Norton would seem the likeliest choice) would get in the race.

A Salazar-Schaffer race would definitely present a choice between the moderate center and the extreme right. Here's a description of Schaffer from the Colorado Springs Gazette:

“When I was there (in Congress), I was part of a team of conservatives that took the federal budget deficit to a surplus,” Schaffer said, adding that his campaign will focus on aggressively getting rid of the latest budget deficit, cutting taxes and constraining the growth of government.

“These are the topics I think really need attention right now,” he said.

Schaffer's record on fiscal matters is indeed frugal. He returned $360,000 of his office budget back to taxpayers. He has always voted to cut taxes, casting an enthusiastic aye vote on the president's $958 billion tax-cut package.

Just have to interject here and ask: Has he seen the budgets passed by the GOP-controlled Congress and signed by the Republican occupant of the White House in the past couple of years?

But his frugality didn't always help Colorado or his district.

Despite extensive transportation needs in his district, Schaffer consistently refused to ask that local road projects be included in federal highway legislation, a massive bill that usually has something for everyone.

Schaffer said getting money for local projects was “pork spending,” which he considers “unethical.”

This would explain those multicar pileups and horrific jams on I-25 between Longmont and the Wyoming state line. Looks like Schaffer would continue Campbell's legacy of reducing Colorado's per-dollar return on federal taxes from over $1.00 to the about 71 cents we get back today. Balanced budgets for me but not for thee?

His stances on social issues place him firmly in step with groups such as Focus on the Family. He has voted in support of prayer in schools, for school vouchers, against abortion, against gay adoptions, against stem cell research against affirmative action and against gay adoptions.

He refused to attend a State of the Union address by President Clinton because it came on the heels of the impeachment vote.

His record on the environment is liked by farmers – he has won the Friend of the Farm Bureau award – and despised by environmentalists – the Sierra Club gave him a 6 percent approval rating.

So for all y'all who think Ken Salazar isn't pure enough, this is your alternative.

03/14/2004

This probably isn't much of a surprise, but Ambassador to the Vatican (and former Republican National Committee chair) Jim Nicholson has announced he too will not run for the open senate seat in Colorado this year.

Now how do you get to be RNC chair and a Bush ambassador in sunny Rome? Fund raising prowess, of course. While Nicholson would have been great in that regard, he would have run the risk of being viewed by the media as Rutt Bridges in reverse -- a sacrifical lamb with lots of money. (Although either Bridges or Nicholson would likely have run a stronger campaign than Rollie Heath, who will go down in Colorado political history as the paradigm self-funding sacrificial lamb.)

Former Rep. Bob Schaffer will announce his candidacy today, and it will be interesting and revealing to see if the GOP gets Lieut. Gov. Jane Norton to run as a stop-Schaffer candidate. Because if he were that good, they'd be making a big fuss about how they were "clearing the field" and unifying behind him.

The following is the text of an e-mail I sent to the Denver Post's Diane Carman this morning in response to this column:

Dear Diane,

I am a fan of yours and I agree that women are underrepresented in Colorado politics. But I have to say I am deeply offended by your lumping in Ken Salazar as part of a "good old boys'" network and your apparent inability to see any difference between him and his white male competitors. And I couldn't help but notice that you didn't mention a single woman of color potential candidate in Colorado while you lamenting the absence of women from the race.

I don't know how long you've lived in Colorado but I'll bet you know that when Carlos Lucero ran for senate (twice) he was beaten in the primary by better-funded, Emily's List supported white female candidates (Josie Heath and Nancy Dick) who then went on to lose the general election. And after that, the Democrats ran Dottie Lamm, another white woman who lost too. I voted for all of them while wondering when the Democrats would finally get over their racial fears of running a Latino candidate. So excuse me for thinking having a Latino major party candidate for Senate -- for the first time in Colorado history -- represents progress and should not be the occasion for lamenting that yet another white woman didn't get a shot at the Senate as the Democratic nominee.

I fully support working for inclusion of more women, including white women, in the political process, but it is disappointing to say the least to see the absence of reciprocity on your part. Given the history I've just alluded to you might at least acknowledge that having a Latino, even though he is male, in such a position of importance is a positive development. A little solidarity would be appreciated.

I'll let you know if I get any response.

Postscript: Now that I've read the column a second time, I am actually more offended than I was the first time. What's up with this "mano a mano" and "macho" shit? Sounds like code words to me. Nothing communicates that sexism is going on better than throwing in a little Spanish, because we all know sexism in Colorado is basically a Mexican import. Seriously, one of the biggest racial stereotypes of Latino men is that we are all sexist pigs. I'm guessing a Jane Norton campaign would play on that stereotype, and it looks like at least one so-called liberal columnist is ready to swallow it hook, line and sinker.

Update: Rocky Mountain Progressive Network takes a look at Lieutenant Gov. Jane Norton's record on women's rights. Guess they weren't kidding when they said Secretary of Interior Gale Norton was out of consideration for the GOP senate nomination because she is pro-choice.

03/13/2004

Officially we still don't know who is responsible for the terrorist atrocity in Madrid this last week, but it is looking more and more like it may have been the work of an al Qaeda affiliated group. (Payback for participating in the Iraq war? Maybe, but who knows with those guys -- with the time frame bin Laden works in, this could be payback for the Reconquista.)

Some think a big terrorist attack in Europe would bring Europeans around to George W. Bush's way of addressing terrorism. I think it shows exactly what's wrong with the approach. Forget about Iraq. Even invading Afghanistan is not really a solution, if the people who are attacking us are not the ones in Taliban camps but instead are in sleeper cells in Europe and North America. So the right answer is exactly the one the Republicans love to deride as insufficiently testosterone-laden: Old fashioned police work, infiltrating and disrupting sleeper cells before they become active. That may be less exciting, because there should be little or no blowing stuff up, but seems to me that approach would be a lot more effective if what we are really trying to do is prevent further mass casualty terrorist attacks, either here or in Europe.

It's a gorgeous day in Denver today, 68 degrees and sunny. Even the most stubborn patches of shade-protected snow have melted away. (Of course, that only means we'll be shoveling eight inches in a few days, I'm sure.) Perfect weather for the St. Patrick's Day parade, the start of the outdoor festival season here.

All the parades in Denver used to go down basically the same route, starting at Union Station and heading down 17th Street through the heart of downtown to Civic Center Park. That's still the route for very big parades like Avalanche Stanley Cup celebrations or the National Western Stock Show parade in January. But lots of the other parades have different routes these days, which brings me to my point about beer.

The new St. Patrick's Day parade route looks basically like a LoDo bar crawl route, which makes me realize how much Guinness and Harp have taken over this holiday the way Corona and Dos Equis have taken over Cinco de Mayo. (Actually, Murphy's Beer is the official sponsor of this parade.) Just eyeballing the map, I see it goes by the Breckenridge Brewery, Falling Rock Tap House, and the Wynkoop Brewing Company, to name a few, not to mention the Celtic Tavern and Fado Irish Pub, which is hosting a cultural festival this weekend. Actually, it sounds like a pretty good time to me -- I'd love to be hanging out on the patio of the Falling Rock as the parade went by.

03/12/2004

After hearing Colorado Republicans gloat for months that the state Democrats have "no bench," I can't avoid feeling a little schadenfreude as it dawns on them that as of right now the smart money has the Colorado Senate seat going to Ken Salazar and the Democrats while they are still scrambling for a candidate. Oh, I know, there is a long way to go and we have got to run like Salazar is the underdog. But let's review the bidding, shall we?

First, Governor Bill Owens said he wouldn't run, and encouraged Rep. Bob Beauprez to be the candidate. I thought it made sense for Beauprez to be the candidate (at least from his own perspective), but DC Republicans couldn't stand the thought that he might lose to Salazar while Dave Thomas took the 7th District House seat as well. No bench there (although maybe Joe Rogers could come out of retirement). So Beauprez announced that he won't run either.

Scott McInnis is supposed to announce his intentions today, so maybe there will still be a strong GOP challenger to Salazar. But if he says no, the pickings start to get pretty slim. There is the former 4th District Rep. Bob Schaffer who is already in, but he is the type of cultural conservative Republicans used to run against Roy Romer and get crushed; the key to Bill Owens' success is keeping the cultural conservatives happy while signaling to the rest of the state that he really isn't one of them. Of course Tom Tancredo might still jump in, and who knows, he might steal the nomination, but he really would destroy the Republicans' efforts to play to Latino voters in Colorado and his presence on the ballot would really complicate Bush's campaign efforts in the southwestern swing states. So now the word is that the obscure Lieutenant Governor, Jane Norton, who got hand picked for that job after Joe Rogers got the boot, is getting encouragement to run. She'd have to make a major splash in order to be competitive against Salazar.

Why are Republican leaders wooing the relatively unknown Norton, and why did Owens back Beauprez, when the Republicans have a pretty good candidate in Scott McInnis -- the guy I've thought all along would really be their best candidate, even over Owens -- in the wings? Maybe this is payback for him bucking the Party establishment on Referendum A. Or maybe the leadership views her as an insurance policy in case the only two candidates are Schaffer and Tancredo. Who knows, but after hearing all fall about how the Democrats' difficulty in finding a candidate to challenge Campbell reflected poorly on their status in the state, the shoe is on the other foot.

You might think Ben Nighthorse Campbell shouldn't have blindsided his own party on this. I guess the moral of the story for the Republicans is never trust a turncoat.

Update: Tancredo and State Treasurer Mike Coffman are out too.

Another Update: McInnis is out too. (Thanks Ralph!) Looks like a battle of unknowns -- Schaffer and Norton -- for the nomination.

03/11/2004

Reading through the comments to this post at daily Kos I realize a lot of my friends on the left don't really have much of an idea who Ken Salazar is except for the biographical facts: fourth generation Colorado native of Latino origin from the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. A recurring meme seems to be that Udall bowing out in favor of Salazar is just another example of liberal Democrats surrendering to DLC Republicans-lite. Someone even suggested that Salazar might be an example of the "rape and pillage" crowd, which I presume means he is a Western Democrat the way Ben Campbell was before the party switch -- favoring extractive industry over the more environmentally friendly New West.

Actually, Udall's and Salazar's politics aren't all that far apart. Part of that is that Udall isn't as liberal as he is made out to be as a Boulder County resident. But believe this: Ken Salazar is second to no one in his defense of the environment. As AG he has made prosecuting environmental crime a top priority -- a serious change from the policies of his predecessor, current Bush Secretary of Interior Gale Norton. He has also fought for protection of in-stream flows and for "basin of origin protection" -- rather arcane water law issues that are very important to the ecology of the rural West. Salazar's other top priority has been consumer protection -- fighting against predatory lending, for the no-call list and against spam. On this latter type of issue he has been able to take pretty liberal positions that are actually where the mainstream is, far from where the Republican right wing has taken the debate.

Most people know Salazar is responsible for defeating the re-redistricting scheme cooked up by the DC Republicans. Fewer know that he defied Governor Bill Owens by filing an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court defending affirmative action at the University of Michigan, where Salazar attended law school.

So where is Salazar moderate? Mostly in the tough-on-crime area. I give him major credit for framing issues about gang violence and guns in a way that reflects the concerns of big-city people of color and without acting like he is here to police his fellow scary minorities. (Salazar is from the Valley, but he currently lives in the Inspiration Point neighborhood in a mixed Latino and white portion of north Denver.) Progressives who think all rural Coloradans are gun nuts might be surprised at Salazar's nuanced approach to gun issues -- he knows very well how important guns are to rural culture but at the same time he supports gun restrictions from a law and order perspective and surrounds himself with cops who don't want to get killed when he does it.

And yes, conservatives want to sow division by pointing out Salazar backed a very limited experimental voucher law that will allow about 100 kids a year to use vouchers to get out of public schools. I don't agree with vouchers myself, because I view them as union busting, but I can understand why he did it in the context of voucher politics in the Chicano/Latino community. For Latinos in Colorado, like elsewhere in the Southwest, education (not immigration or affirmative action and certainly not gay marriage) is the most important issue. And Chicanos/Latinos generally are willing to consider any proposal that promises to improve the mostly dismal schools that serve the community. One major reason the Republicans promote vouchers is as a wedge issue between Latinos and teacher's unions, hoping that Democrats will uniformly oppose vouchers and thus be vulnerable to the question "Why won't they consider something that could help our schools?" By supporting the most limited of the voucher bills working through the state legislature (in a year when it was guaranteed some voucher law would get passed) Salazar is able to say he is willing to test vouchers to see if they work, without agreeing to a radical, devastating reform.

Salazar is one of those extremely gifted politicians that you don't see every day. And he ain't no Zell Miller. He is a Democrat real Democrats can be happy with.

I just want to point out a couple of new websites I've added to my link lists in the past couple of days.

First of all, I'm sure you will all be happy to know that Ralph, daily Kos diarist and the most frequent commenter around here, has his very own elevation-assisted blog now. Ralph is from Boulder, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is going to operate a tofu-eating, rock-climbing, Ceal Barry-loving, sweater-and-shorts-wearing, Zen-meditating, buffalo-worshipping, front-porch-couch-burning, excessively-hoppy-beer-drinking, taking-the-bus-to-Eldora-after-work kind of blog. So forget the stereotypes! Go over to his site and find out what MakesMeRalph.

And I also delighted to say that Roberto Moreno, Colorado's crusader for snowsports diversity, has launched a website for his organization Alpino. Alpino is "Changing the Social Context of Mountain Recreation in America" for the better by helping introduce a new generation of skiers and riders of color to winter sports. I'm looking forward to sharing the mountain with a whole bunch of their alumni, and my message to the winter sports world is "Get used to it." Alpino doesn't have a blog (yet), so I've put it on my "Other Cool Sites" list. Check it out!